Tribunal’s order on ‘silence zone’ at Amarnath quashed by SC

Appearing for the Amarnath Shrine Board, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the bench that the NGT had taken up the Amarnath issue on its own while dealing with a plea relating to stopping the use of horses and ponies in Vaishno Devi shrine premises in Jammu.

The Supreme Court on Monday set aside an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that declared a "silence zone" in front of the ice stalagmite resembling the "Shivalinga" at the Amarnath cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta stayed the December 13 order of the NGT while hearing a plea filed by the Amarnath Shrine Board against the order on the ground that a decision in a case could not be based on grounds outside the pleading of the parties.

Appearing for the Amarnath Shrine Board, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the bench that the NGT had taken up the Amarnath issue on its own while dealing with a plea relating to stopping the use of horses and ponies in Vaishno Devi shrine premises in Jammu.

The bench asked petitioner and environment activist Gauri Mulekhi to file a proper petition on the issue relating to the Amarnath shrine.

During the hearing, Rohatgi told the bench that the NGT had barred chiming of bells, offering of "prasad", chanting of mantras or saying "Jai Bholenath" in the areas surrounding the famed cave shrine to preserve its eco sensitivity. Hearing this, the bench quipped: "What does it (NGT) want to say?" Rohatgi added: "How can they ask that you can't take 'prasad' with you? People have religious sentiments."

On the NGT's order of banning carrying of "prasad", the bench suggested that Amarnath Shrine Board could provide the "prasad". IANS